12.05 June 1st 2009 Overnight the world changed. Food was rationed, so was power and fuel and just about everything else everyone had taken for granted. The rich could still buy whatever they needed, it just cost more and the poor and homeless could not. Sector points were set up to restrict the heavy flow of people trying to leave the worse cities behind.
For some people, it wasn't much of a change. They had nothing before the pulse and they had nothing now.
For all his family's wealth, Logan Cale was one of those rare people that needed to help those less fortunate. Most of his family disapproved and considered him the black sheep. When the Sector Police used their positions to extort money from citizens trying to get a chance at a better life, he exposed them. He would let nothing and no one stand in his way, which earned him several death threats.
Logan had created 'Eyes Only' for the sake of his family's safety. It was all very well trying to save the world, but not at the expense of his family, despite what they may think of him. His decision to become a journalist and avoid the family business had not gone down well with his father. His mother had understood Logan's need for adventure, to help people with his stories and above all, to be different from the rest of the family.
Riots had started moments after rationing had been announced. The police were limited and some officers accepted bribes to look the other way. The world had gone completely backwards in matter of moments.
In another part of the city Max hid under the stairs, anxious to avoid yet another beating from her adopted father. As soon as the pulse had hit, the power had gone off, interrupting his football game, he had needed to vent his rage on someone.
Max could have easily taken him, but in doing so, she would have exposed herself. Being normal wasn't all it was cracked up to be, especially in moments like this. Maybe it was time to move on, again.
When Max actually dared to let herself dream, it was always the same. A better life, in a better place with her X5 siblings. It seemed such a simple dream back at Manticore, but not so simple when they had tried to put it to practice.
She had always wondered where the other eleven that had escaped with her were. Zack and Jondy were always the first to pop into her head. Zack had always been the leader. Max had no doubt he would be fine. Jondy was the closest to her though. When they had been separated, it had been like loosing a limb. She knew it was for their own safety that Zack had insisted that they split up.
She waited until her stepfather had collapsed into a drunken slumber before creeping out of her hiding place. Max hastily grabbed a few clothes and stuffed them into a bag. She beckoned her stepsister to go with her, but the little girl shook her head. She had such a defeated look in her eyes. Max hated to leave her behind, but she knew in her heart that her stepsister would only slow her down and probably get them both caught.
Casting one last glance at her stepsister, Max crawled out of window and into the night. She could survive by herself, she had been trained to. The human side of her craved to be loved though, know what it was like to be part of a real family.
She sat at the docks for a while, watching the fancy yachts pull in for the night. Memories of being dumped in the tanks at Manticore and being expected to hold her breath flashed through her mind. Jondy hated the water, her terrified face staring at Max immediately came to mind.
It seemed so unfair to Max, that all of these rich people still seemed to have so much at the click of their fingers. Especially when there were even more people on the streets, hungry and alone than there were two nights ago. She seriously doubted that her stepfather had even noticed that she had been missing for two days.
A couple stood on the deck of their yacht kissing passionately. Max watched them. The woman seemed oblivious to the world around her apart from her partner. The man on the other hand intrigued Max. Although he lavished attention and judging from the woman's jewellery, quite a bit of money on her, he seemed bored with her. It was almost as if he knew there were bigger more drastic issues happening in the world and he was wasting precious time on a woman he quite obviously did not love. Not that Max knew what love was.
The man grabbed a picnic basket and jumped onto the dock before helping the woman off of the yacht. As they walked past Max, he dropped the blanket and a bag of food beside her, never breaking his stride. Max waited until the couple made it to their car before opening the bag to see what was inside. She hadn't eaten since she had run away, so she was starving.
Logan watched the young girl from the car. Instinct had told him that she would have run if he had stopped and tried to offer her the food and blanket. He could see it in her beautiful young face. Especially in those big determined brown eyes. Instinct also told him she'd be gone when he got back from dropping his date home.
His date looked out the window at the girl, then over to Logan. "You know, the pulse has hit all of us hard, Logan. She's not the only one who's suffering."
Logan resisted the urge to laugh in her face as he started the car. She didn't know what suffering was. Jennifer Winston had been born rich and would probably die rich. Suffering to her was the fact that her hairdresser had, had to reschedule her hair appointment due to the power cuts.
He cast the girl on the docks one more glance before driving away down the street, which had started to resemble a war zone due to the riots. Without knowing it, the girl had made him more determined than ever to help right the wrongs of the world.
Max watched the car pull away and disappear. Maybe there were people who cared in the world. The trick was to find them. She bit into the apple she had found in the bag. She smiled to herself for the first time in years. That guy was going to make a difference to the world. She didn't how, but instinct told her that he would.
THE END
